Swampwalker: I was looking at the CAL 10 or 15 model (can't remember which was the changer) in hopes of getting a good one and also considered the cheap Aiwa that is the talk of the town when combined with a good DAC, but I am still using the CAL Icon MKII. I combined it with a Bel Canto DAC and am currently using a Mapleshade Double Helix digital IC (that I am keeping) and use both Homegrown Super Silver and HT Truthlink analog IC's. I am very satisfied with the results (the DAC and IC were $975.00) and I no longer desire the Theta Miles or Resolution Audio CD50 though they both have their special area's of greatness, IMO and are a bit more attractive as well (the CAL looks like my 20 year old Panasonic VCR from a distance - big black box). I could have sold the CAL and picked up either of these for just a little more money, but decided to stick with what I already knew and was also intrigued by reviews of the Bel Canto. I started out using the combo with my Musical Fidelity X-A1 amp but am now using it with an Audion Silver Night 300b stereo amp. The CAL/Canto has been a good match with both setups. I still have my Castle speakers but am now running a pair of Renaud Twin's. The CAL makes a good transport as I use it. I don't know if you are familiar with the Icon but when it was used as a stand alone it had an unusual midrange "reverb" quality that was noticable on piano and some voice (this trait has also been mentioned by other users and I am borrowing their use of the word "reverb". I like the trait actually. When I added the Bel Canto I discovered that "some" of this trait seems to have survived and assume that it must be a quality of the transport system instead of the internal DAC or perhaps a combination of both as it has subsided but not gone completely away. I use the term "reverb" to describe it, but maybe "space" would also apply (it's hard for me to describe sound in words). I think that the Audion's volume setup is passive so I cannot comment on Doug's/Sedond's theory of a tube preamp negating the improvement of the added DAC. The CAL/Bel Canto is superior in many ways, IMO, to the CAL alone combined with the Audion tube amp, though the CAL still sounds pretty damm good on it's own. I guess that I just favor CAL's fuller sound and bold bass which is why I selected it from the rest in the first place. The Bel Canto does not completely change the CAL sound, it just adds more realism to the istruments and the presentation. I would love to own a tube preamp/ss amp combo such as yours for the living room system eventually and then retire the little tube amp to the small spare bedroom. I realize that this info is kind of off the thread, but perhaps everyone can consider it as the logic behind the changes that take place.
